OPEN KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION LBG

Their core work

The Open Knowledge Foundation is a UK-based nonprofit that builds tools and advocates for open data, transparency, and public access to information. In H2020, they brought expertise in making government budgets, public administration data, and scientific research outputs more accessible and usable. Their work spans building open data platforms, reducing legal and technical barriers to text and data mining, and designing participatory research methods where citizens become active contributors to social science research.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

From 2015 to 2017, OKF focused heavily on government and public sector transparency — open budgets, public administration data, and removing barriers to data reuse (OpenBudgets.eu, ROUTE-TO-PA, FutureTDM). By 2020, their focus shifted noticeably toward citizen engagement and participatory methods, with CoAct centring on citizen social science and co-design. This evolution reflects a move from building open data infrastructure to empowering communities to actively use and produce knowledge.

OKF is moving from data transparency infrastructure toward participatory and citizen-driven research methods, making them a strong fit for projects requiring public engagement and co-creation components.

How they like to work

OKF has always participated as a partner, never as coordinator, across all five H2020 projects. With 65 unique consortium partners across 17 countries, they are a well-connected contributor who joins diverse teams rather than building their own. Their consistent partner role and wide network suggest they are valued for specific expertise — open data tooling, policy knowledge, community engagement — rather than project management leadership.

OKF has collaborated with 65 distinct partners across 17 countries, giving them a broad European network despite never leading a project. Their partnerships span public sector bodies, universities, and tech organizations across Western and Southern Europe.

What sets them apart

OKF sits at the intersection of technology, policy, and public engagement — a rare combination in H2020 consortia. Unlike pure tech providers, they understand the legal and social dimensions of open data, and unlike policy think tanks, they build actual tools and platforms. For any consortium needing an open data strategy, community engagement design, or data governance expertise, OKF brings both credibility and practical capability as a globally recognised open knowledge advocate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OpenBudgets.eu
  Their highest-funded project (EUR 235,508), building a dedicated financial transparency platform for public sector budget data across Europe.
• CoAct
  Represents a strategic pivot toward citizen social science and co-design methods, signalling OKF's future direction in participatory research.
• NextGEOSS
  An unusual diversification into Earth observation and geospatial data infrastructure, showing OKF can apply open data principles beyond government transparency.